Pressure sealed valve



Jamo l2, H54

D. MaCGREGOR PRESSURE SEALED VALVE Filed May 7, 1947 Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED sTATss PATENT OFFICE PRESSURE SEALED VALVE David MacGregor, Munster, Ind., assigner to Edward Valves Incorporated, East Chicago, Ind.

a corporation of Indiana Application May 7, 1947, Serial N0. 746,582

4 Claims.

This invention relates to uid control valves, and in particular to checkvalves for the control of the flow of a high temperature, high pressure iluid such as steam or the like.

Valves of this general type comprise a hollow fluid on the discharge side of the valve body. The

body is provided with an opening through which the valve disc can be inserted into the body and positioned for movement with respect to the valve seat. Since valves of this type do not require any external control means, the opening through which the valve disc is inserted is closed by a closure which is normally removed only for the purpose of inspection and repair.

Where valves of this type are used in the control of the iiow of large volumes of rapidly moving iiuid, it is desired to reduce the friction losses through the valve to as low a value as possible, and for this reason the valve seat is arranged to provide a comparatively unrestricted flow of uid through a smooth internally contoured body when the disc is raised from the seat. When a valve seat is thus arranged a correspondingly sized valve disc must be used, and the opening in the valve body through which the disc is inserted is therefore of corresponding size. In view of the large size of the opening for inserting the disc, a large closure device is required for this opening. This requirement leads to complications because the closing device must include a seal which will positively prevent leakage through the opening and at the same time be easily removed for the purpose of inspection and repair. Various forms of closing devices have been used in the past with some success, including types wherein the internal pressure of the fluid within the valve body is used to assist in squeezing the closure device seal so that in effect the sealing pressure is increased in accordance with the increase in internal pressure within the valve body.

I have invented a combined closure and sealing device of the latter type which is of simplified construction, while at the same time providing an improved closure and seal which may be easily dissassembled for inspection of the valve or removal of the parts thereof, and which may be as easily reassembled to provide a positive closure 2 and seal. In valves of this type, it frequently occurs that the valve disc is raised with considerable velocity when a high rate or volume of ilow of fluid is admitted to the valve body for passage therethrough. Although it is customary to provide damping means to slow this movement, there is still considerable shock when the moving valve disc reaches the upper end of its stroke, which is determined by the position of a mechanical stop of some form. In the valve of my invention, the stop for the moving valve disc is the closure and pressure sealing device which is consequently subjected to a considerable shock by reason of being struck by the moving valve disc or parts associated with it. However, the improved and novel combined closure and sealing device of my invention is fully designed to withstand the aforesaid shocks as well as to close and seal the opening in the valve body. Y

It is accordingly the major object of my invention to provide a novel and improved check valve and closure and sealing means therefor.

It is another major object of my invention to provide a new and improved closure and sealing means for an opening in a body or vessel which is subjected to high internal pressures.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a new and improved closure and seal for the opening in a check valve body through which the valve is inserted and wherein the closure and seal are subjected to high internal fluid pressures as well as to the shock of stopping the moving check valve during an opening movement thereof.

It is another object of my invention to provide a novel and improved closure for an opening in a pressure vessel, wherein a segmented locking ring is inserted to t within the Walls of the opening to provide a stop to hold the closure and seal within the opening.

Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the attached drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through a check valve embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of l Figure 1 showing the sealing gasket and locking 'shoul"cler 2B. fAs "best 90 degree angle to the outlet i2. Between the inlet passageway I3 and the outlet passageway I 4 is disposed a horizontal circular opening l5, the top edge portion of which forms a valve seat IG. A disk I'I, when in its lowermost position as shown in Figure l, engages the valve seat I5 around its entire periphery and closes the opening I5. `Preferably, the valve seat I6 is formed by a weldedglayer of Stellite, a hard stainless chromium tungsten cobalt alloy, and the portion I8 of the disk I1, which engages the valve seat, is similarly formed of StelliteJ The engaging surfaces of the seat I6 and the ,portionl are machined for full mating engagement to close the passageway or 'opening llzwhenfthe disk II is in its lowermost position. 1

The valve body I il has a vertically extending hollow boss I9 which is coaxial with the opening I5 and of such internal diameter that the .disk

I'I may be inserted therethrough to 'itsno'rrna'l" position. Apiston 2B has a sliding nt within the "bor'e l"2%*off-"title=hJllCW5lliJss Al 9, "and 'S' Arigidly cohv'nested-lto' thedisk iI 1 Abylafliollow"cylindrical mem- "ber '25 which is wl'dedf'to both-the piston fand '-to the disk. While the angle between vv'the lboss "I 9 *and the-outlet f I2 fis fshown 'to Lhe `a right f angle 4'itis toi-be understoodithat this angle may-beless for more than Tv90V degrees.

`"In v'-tlfief-sp Vaceewitliin4 the body above the open- A-irrg I5 are 'providedthreefguidef-vanesgftwo of whichonly are-shown inthe drawings and identi- 'ied -by'-`the referenceenumber's "26 and 521i. Y-The '-vanesfl land '521 are #spacedl at an langle or" sub- V`stantially 120 degrees, and thethird vanefwhich 'iis not shown, is also Vspaced atan angle lof I120 vdegrees -ffrom thewanesfZand E'Iand -is curved ltoward the -'outlet '-fpassageway I4 'in the -sarne manner Cas is theCurVedguide vvane 27. A'The aforesaid Ikthree guide vanes-extenjd ``inwz-irdly so thatthey engage the periphery of the f-valve disk f-II' at three sulostantiallyA eduallyspacediintervals VA`to guide :it )during fits lvertical"Inovemerits 'so that it is assuredtliatfthe' portion lfof the disk will -`ierlgagethe seat jlffw'hen the-fdisk v`is'atits lower- A Qimjost'position. "The`ipistonzll'isliding within the borel,falso assures thatthefdisk Lll'will fmove axially with respe6t fte the lopening T5. The

ia'idin kreducing ithe rictionlosses Adue to lthe `xpassage of the Ehuidthrouglrthe valve'bodyhy -fdirectin'g thefuid towards the outletpassageway ing reducedat Aa tapered shoulder '23 YAYand termi- 'fnating in acylindrical'portion3B-oi` Asubstantially smaller diameter thanltheborez. -A-gasket surroundstheplugf'a "inthe iregion of the tapered shown inth'e fenlar'ged view A#of Sligure 2, the l gasket 33 -is ltapered downwardly A:and -foutwardly at Vitslbettonr portion Tto form an inclined bottom surface 34. Thefiangl'e vthat lis Amade by the inclined bottom surface 3i! with the bore 24 is more acute than ithef angle vbetween lthe i-tapered shoulder!!! at the bore 24, and the outer "diameter-of the lgasket 33 kmay be slightly larger `4`than the largest diameter of the plug 28, although .having'asliding t within the-bore. This is in accordance with'the. disclosure vin `my co-'pending application Serial Number 662,341 filed April 15, 1946 wherein the exact angles of the inclined gasket and shoulder 29 are disclosed.

The bore 24, adjacent to but spaced below the top of the boss I9, has an annular recess 35 which provides an upper shoulder 36 and a lower shoulder 3'I. Surrounding the reduced cylindrical portion 3B of the plug 28.1s .anannularspacer ring 38 which has its lower edge .against the top of the gasket 33 and its upper edge substantially in A the same plane as the aforesaid lower shoulder 31.

- ment 'in the top ofthe pressure plug 28.

"The pressure plug 28 is retained against outward movement-.within the hollow boss I9 by means oa locking ringg which has an externalrange 'flii seated within the annular recess 35. As shown ,in Figure 3,.thelocking ring has three segments 39, 39a, and 39h. In order to insert the locking fri-ng segments, the pressure plug 28 is lowered ments, "the segments SQand B'lba're'inserted irst, vand vthen the'segmentfa is inserted, the reason for this being apparent 'from an inspection of '-Figurei. The pressure pluglZiI may now be raised tothe position shown inFigure'l'so thatthe'three segments of the'locking ring are retained within the recess 35 rlay-"reason AVdf theifact that the reduced jcylindricahportion'il of 'the vplug L28 :fits vwithin 'them and v'retains 'them 'against lany iinward movement, which movement would displace them from vthe annular'recess 35.

A circular retainerplate 113 has Ya Ireducedpor tion 44 which ts within thefsegrnents -at their upper fends. Theplate -43.also Vhas an enlarged portion d5 which overlies 1the upper end of `the hollow boss I9, and rests upon lit. A Lseries -`rof equiangularly' spaced scap screws pass Ythrough the retainer plate f4.3 and have threaded vengage- As shown in Figure V1,"the vcap 'screws 46 `'have their heads received 1in counter-sunk bores within `the lretainer plate,*theirfheadsfloeingeengageable 'by a suitable Tt'ool. t is '-to '-*berun'clerstood that 'the Aheads need not be recessed into the plate, and 4 that studs and nuts for anyrotherrsuitable 'means of rsecuring the platefil Ato 'the 'plug 123 may Vbe used. As also shown in 'Figure il, the pressure plug 28 hasa'tapp'edhlefdl in vertical alignment with a central fbore-lla in fthe y:retainer plate is?. The aligned hole d? vand .the'central `'here T48 vare usedfduring assemblyo'f theclosure'and pressure seal into the top of"the"boss '13.

During assembly, after 'fthe disk IFI :with tits piston 2'0 are droppedintothe bore 24, the pres- :sure plug 28 is inserted :into lthe bore. Due vto 'its loose'ttherein, the plug V23 will normally drop to the bottom of the fbore 24, but arod (not shown) is I"threaded into the holefll'i and extends upwardly aout .of V:the boss to provide means for holding the Ipressure plug "et in its normal raised position, v.while the gasket 3, the spacer ring 38,' Vthe L'locking :ring 3Q, and 'the 'retaineriplatefsaresplaoed n'their proper relaitive positions. .The-klast gof these elements that :is :puttin place .is thezretainer'splate rds .and .the

- laforesaidholidng rold'fwill:passjverticallyithrough the bore "d8 'therein The :cap screws 'it may then .be inserted through'the: retainer 'plategand `4threaded into the :pressure plug-'128 =to hoid it in place. `Silbe-aforesaidholding rod 'may then be Jlremoved, .fsince vit vhas Ano `-'further use, the

erably of slightly larger outside diameter than the pressure plug 28 at its largest diameter. The gasket may be of a relatively soft iron having a maximum hardness of approximately 90 Brinell, Other materials, such as asbestos, may be used instead of soft iron, the material used being dependent upon the various factors such as the use to which the valve is to be put. Since the locking ring 39 prevents upward'movement of the spacer ring 38 and of the gasket v33, it will be apparent that when the pressure plug 28 is forced upwardly, it will pinch the lower and outer pointed end of the gasket between itself and the bore 24 of the boss I9. 'I'his provides a very effective seal which becomes more tightly compressed by the upward force on the pressure plug resulting' from internal pressure within the valve body Il! as disclosed in my aforesaid co-pending application Serial Number 662,341.

After the complete closure and pressure seal is assembled into the top of the boss I9 as previously described, the cap screws 46 are turned so as to draw the pressure plug 28 upwardly and compress the gasket 33 slightly at its pointed end so as to apply an initial sealing pressure to the assembly. The cap screws 46 should be carefully adjusted to assure that this sealing pressure is applied substantially equally to the gasket around its entire circumference. When the valve is installed and subjected to internal pressure, the upward force resulting from this pressure will squeeze the gasket and deform it to a greater extent than was accomplished by the initial tightening of the cap screws 46. It may then be found, while the internal pressure still exists within the valve body, that the pressure plug 28 has been raised by a slight amount so that the cap screws 46 may be easily rotated. At this time, they should be again tightened so as to retain the pressure plug 28 in the same position after the internal pressure has been released.

It is thus seen that the closure and pressure seal provided by my construction needs no external rings or clamps to take the load caused by internal pressure. The internal pressure is sealed off between the pressure. plug and the gasket, and the load caused by the pressure is held by the segmented locking ring 39 which is positively centered by the guiding areas of the retainer plate and the pressure plug. In addition to the other advantages resulting from the aforesaid construction, the entire closure and pressure seal are easily removed merely by removing the cap screws 46 whereupon the retainer plate 43, the locking ring 39, and the entire pressure plug and gasket assembly can be removed. The same threaded rod used during initial assembly may be threaded into the tapped hole 41 in the pressure plug 28 to assist in pulling the elements out of the bore 24.

As previously mentioned, the piston 20 within the bore 24 serves as a dashpot to dampen the opening movement of the disk I1 when the uid pressure is rst admitted to the inlet passageway I3. However, means are provided to vent the compressed uid from the confined space above the piston 20 in order to allow the disc I'l to reach the top of its stroke in order to provide a full opening through the opening I5. An external pipe 50 is provided and is connected to the bore 24 just below the pressure plug 28, and is also connected to the outlet passageway I4 and serves to equalize the pressure between these two points so that, as the piston 20 rises within the bore 24, the trapped fluid will pass through the pipe 50 and into the outlet passageway I4. In

a similar manner, when ow through the valve body in the normal direction is stopped so that the pressure of the flowing fluid does not maintain the disk I'I in its raised position, the assembly formed by the disk I 'I, the piston 20, and the member 25, will fall by its own weight to close the opening I5 against the flow of uid in the reverse direction. The pipe 50 allows vfluid to enter the space above the piston 20 to avoid the formation of a vacuum which would retard the dropping of the assembly to close the opening I5. Adjacent its bottom, the hollow member 25 connecting the disk I'I and the piston 20 is provided with an opening 52 which will allow liquids, such as condensed steam or the like to drain out of the member 25, and from the space above the piston 20 and within the bore 24.

I have also shown in Figure 1, that if the piston 20 were allowed to travel upwardly until it engages the pressure plug 28, its skirt would seal off the opening to the equalizer pipe 50. In order to prevent this, a number of upwardly extending stops 53 are secured, as by welding, to the top of the piston so that they will engage the underside of the pressure plug 28 to limit the upward movement of the piston so that it will not close the opening to the pipe 50.

A considerable shock is sometimes applied to the pressure plug 28 when the piston and disk assembly is quickly opened, due to the supply of high pressure fluid to the inlet passageway I3. My novel and improved closure and pressure seal construction not only effectively closes the upper end of the bore 24 in such a manner that the Vseal is clamped more effectively as the internal pressure increases, but it is of such construction and strength that it also withstands the shock-of the opening movement of the valve disk I'I and the piston 2U. AWhile I have illustrated my novel and improved closure and pressure seal in connection with a check valve it.is to be understood that it may also be used where a valve' stem protrudes through the boss I9, the stem having a packing between itself and the pressure plug as disclosed in my aforesaid copending application Serial Number 662,341 and the closure and seal is effective and adaptable in other devices wherein a positive pressure seal and closure is needed.

The invention may be embodied in other specic forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

, 1. In ahollow body adapted to be subjected to internal pressure, and having a bore witha cylindrical surface to provide an access opening; an annular recess in the wall of said bore adjacent to but spaced from the top thereof; a removable segmented looking ring in said recess and forming an annular shoulder in said bore;

,av movable closure member having an integral reduced portion telescoped within said locking ring and an enlarged ange spaced from said locking ring; a gasket between said locking ring and said enlarged ange against which said closure member is forced by internal pressure; a 

